roots

Now arrives Jess Harlen, a taste of soul, urban roots, lyrical stylings and poetic incision. This songstress hails from the rolling hills and coastlines of New Zealand and is of Ngati Porou and Nga Puhi decent. Moving to Australia with her family at a young age, Jess spent her school years growing up in Brisbane where she began singing and was taught to play the guitar by her family. Throughout her musical upbringing, influences include blues artists such as John Lee Hooker and Nina Simone, Motown greats such as Otis Redding and Gladys Knight...

After a couple of writing sessions together Edward and Michael realised that their strong individual styles blended into a seamless combination of jazz, folk and swing with hints of blues. This heralded the birth of Elbury. Ever since these early writing sessions Elbury has honed their composition skills to create smooth rounded edges to their sound. Through an intricate use of finger picking and harmonies that evoke goose bumps, in songs such as 'Seventh Age'. Many times over Elbury have been thanked by their listeners for the warm state that their wooded acoustic sound brought them to.

Thriving and following the steps of independent acts before them, benjalu is a band that prides themselves on the old school approach of constant touring to promote their music. Since their formation in 2006 the Newcastle based roots-rock outfit have made the most of their successes. In 2007 benjalu concentrated on playing every week, mainly focussing on shows in their hometown. They capped off the year when the band released their debut EP ‘Reflecting On’ to an overwhelming response.

Horace Andy is a legendary roots reggae singer, notable for such tracks as Government Land, You Are My Angel and Skylarking. Born Horace Hinds on 19 February 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica, he made his earliest recordings in the late 1960s. Known for his distinctive falsetto vocal style, he sung on many classic production for reggae producers, including Phil Pratt, King Tubby and Prince Jammy. He is a devout Rastafari and, like many reggae singers, much of his material deals with themes of religion and social justice.